There have been some huge spikes in the sodium content of some processed foods.  A 2008 study published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) shows that the average sodium content of over 500 processed and restaurant foods stayed around the same between 2005 and 2008.

On the other hand over 100 products increased sodium content by 5% or more and nearly 30 products increased by 30% or more.

Hardee’s French Fries tripled the amount of sodium in those three years; Walmart Cream Cheese almost doubled.

Sodium content in over 110 products declined in the same period.

The American Medical Association has asked the food industry to try and reduce sodium content by 50% over ten years. It is estimated that alone could saveup to 150,000 lives annually, or 1.5 million over ten years!

Only about 10% of the salt in processed foods is there naturally on average. The rest (90%) is added by the manufacturers. Most is common salt, but there is also MSG, and Sodium Nitrite.

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Bourbon Beer Dinner
Thurs, Nov. 12 / 7-9 pm
Join them for their monthly craft beer dinner, featuring 4 bourbon-inspired courses paired with 4 festive craft beers.

The featured beers this month easily make the transition from cocktail time to turkey time, and will pair nicely with your Thanksgiving menu. RSVP required. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL MENU.

Cost: $30, includes food and beer tasting

Ted’s Butcherblock | 334 East Bay Street | www.tedsbutcherblock.com | 843.577.0094 | Charleston | SC | 29401

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Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes

From the award-winning champion of culinary simplicity who gave us the bestselling How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian comes Food Matters, a plan for responsible eating that’s as good for the planet as it is for your weight and your health.

We are finally starting to acknowledge the threat carbon emissions pose to our ozone layer, but few people have focused on the extent to which our consumption of meat contributes to global warming. Think about it this way: In terms of energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home.

Bittman offers a no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big business marketing, and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table each evening. He demystifies buzzwords like “organic,” “sustainable,” and “local” and offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes that will shrink your carbon footprint — and your waistline.

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BY the time the average American child has reached the age of 18, they’ve watched between 10,000 and 15,000 hours of television, and seen up to 200,000 commercials, according to research done for the Children’s Television Act, passed by the US Congress in 1990.

Also, a recent study undertaken by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) for that almost 80% of foods that are advertised on the Viacom network of stations are too high is fat, salt and sugars.

At the same time over 25% of American children are overweight or obsese, and this is leading to health problems, both as children, and later in adult life.

The Advertising Coalition reports that $10-$15 billion is spent annually on kids’ food advertising.

Researchers found that for each additional hour of television viewed per day, daily servings of fruits and vegetables decreased among adolescents possibly due to television advertising (Boynton-Jarret, R, 2003)

So, it could be in your child’s interest, and also your own, to watch out for some of those many junk food commercials on the TV.

Next time you sit down to look, see how many food commercials promote healthy eating of unprocessed natural foods, and how many fall into the category of junk.

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Do you like fish, but concerned about the environment?

If you’re in the supermarket’s fish section, or at the fishmonger, check out the Blue Ocean Institute FishPhone.

Send a text message to 30644* with the message fish and the name of the fish you’d like to know more about, (for example, ‘fish sardines’) and you’ll get a message back to help you decide what to buy.

*These short codes only work in the US

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